Fiesta ST - One Year In

I've just hit one year in my Fiesta ST, I picked it up with 17km on the clock. I checked this morning and the odometer now reads just over 38000km, an average of 731km a week. My thoughts after one year of ownership.

It's a car where you can have your cake and eat it too. It's moderately quick (or should I say, quick enough most of the time), but because it's light and the engine is fairly small, also is quite economical. It drinks about 6L/100km compared to my old car which used 8L/100km in the same conditions. It can be driven sedately but get on the throttle and it perks right up. It needs a lot of throttle to get going fast, as it is a small engine, but it's rewarding. Blasting through the hills is a fantastic experience.

It's got a fair amount of fruit. Auto headlights, climate control, auto dimming rear vision mirror. Even cruise control.

Negatives? Cheap plastics. You can tell where they spent money (engine, seats, suspension setup) and where they scrimped (interior). There's also not much headroom in tuning. The car doesn't gain a lot from exhaust/intake upgrades like usual turbocharged cars. And the suspension is stiff, like really stiff. It's OK when blasting through the hills, but pottering up/down the freeway can be a bit tiresome.

Driving my old car whilst CB was recently away was like driving on a cloud. And that car is not known for it's lush ride (also a hot hatch). But compared to the back breaking stiffness of the Fiesta's shocks, it was lush. When due for a replacement, I'll be getting some aftermarket Konis which are reportedly make the ride a lot more compliant without sacrificing handling.

I have 4 years left to drive this car before I can get something new, and my opinion may change as I get closer to the time. But at the moment, I'm not sure what I'd replace it with (or if I would).